Loan approvals are still declining, as are house prices - according to new research from Hometrack, building socieities and the Bank of England.
Mortgage approvals totals have dropped to 71 percent below those of a year ago, new figures from the Bank of England have shown.
The July statistics suggest that housing market malaise continues in the UK, by showing that just 33,000 mortgages for purchase were approved over the course of the month. The new total is also six percent down on June's figure.
Mortgage approvals value fell 12 percent over the month to £14.57 billion. This is the lowest monthly total since 2001.
The Bank of England statistics come as Hometrack releases its latest house price analysis. The firm said that the average property now costs 5.3 percent less than it did a year ago - a slight improvement on the 10.5 percent annual decline marked on the survey by lender Nationwide.
Elsewhere, figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA) show the number of mortgage approvals from societies reaching just £2.5 billion for July, a new low for the current housing downturn. By way of contrast, this figure stood at £3.9 billion in July 2007.
BSA director general, Adrian Coles, commented: "Recent falls in house prices have been widely publicised, reducing potential buyers' confidence and keeping them out of the market, and with societies seeking to maintain high quality loan books, societies have chosen to follow a policy of conservative lending that has further reduced the amount of mortgage business they have undertaken."
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